The book *Wierusz-Kowalscy: Selected Figures*

Sample chapter from the book – Józef Wierusz-Kowalski’s Line (draft)/api/media/14667d47-cb59-4946-b6d6-e6a589d497ea

From the book’s introduction

I would like to express my sincere thanks for your interest in this book and for delving into the history of the Wierusz-Kowalski family. Today, this family is known primarily through the figure of Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski, an outstanding painter whose work has left an indelible mark on the history of Polish art. One of the main aims of this book, however, is to show that the history of the Wierusz-Kowalski family is far richer and encompasses the lives of many other people, often little known or almost forgotten today, whose life stories prove to be extremely interesting and worth recalling.

For over ten years, I have been gathering information on the history of the Wierusz-Kowalski family. For many years, I posted the materials I had collected – documents, photographs, memoirs and the results of my ongoing research – on the website I run. As time went on, the amount of material grew, and the family history became increasingly comprehensive. Eventually, I decided to compile it, organise it and give it a more permanent form – a book.

Initially, my aim was primarily to organise the family’s genealogy – surnames, dates, places and connections. It soon became clear, however, that a family tree alone would not suffice. After all, behind every date lies a person, and behind every surname – a separate story.

This is neither an academic monograph nor a comprehensive history of all the branches of the family. It is, above all, an attempt to save from oblivion the people, events and places connected with the family. Numerous documents, photographs and memories have survived for some; for others, only a few details remain. I was keen to restore the names, faces and at least a fragment of their history to these lesser-known figures as well.

The fortunes of the Wierusz-Kowalski family span various eras and locations, and their lives reflect the history of Poland – uprisings, the loss and regaining of independence, wars, occupation, emigration and post-war transformations. Among the family members were artists, military personnel, engineers, landowners and civil servants, but also people whose names we will not find in history textbooks, even though their stories were no less fascinating.

Over time, work on the book turned into a sort of investigation. One birth certificate led to the next, a photograph to another location, a press mention to an archive file, and a name discovered by chance to new documents or memoirs. Not all the mysteries have been solved; therefore, where the sources do not allow for definitive conclusions, I leave the questions open.

I am also aware that, despite many years of research, the book may contain information that will require supplementation, clarification or correction in the future. Genealogical and historical research is never entirely concluded, and new documents may yield further answers. I apologise for any errors or inaccuracies and would be grateful if you could point them out to me.

Today, very few people bear the surname Wierusz-Kowalski. This made it all the more important to me to produce a book that would preserve the memory of the family and its past for future generations.

Its creation would not have been possible without the help of many people. I would like to thank the historians and authors of publications whose works were an important source of knowledge for me; regional researchers and history enthusiasts who shared their findings; the staff at archives, museums and other institutions who helped me access documents; and, above all, members of my family and related families, who provided photographs, documents, memories and information preserved in the family’s collective memory. I am also grateful to all those who pointed me in new directions and helped me through the successive stages of my research.

I would like this book to be read, above all, as a story about people. Not all of them were prominent figures, and not all of them left their mark in encyclopaedias. Yet each one was part of a history without which there would be no next generation.

Preserving even a fraction of this memory was the most important reason for writing this book.

Rafał Wierusz-Kowalski